Any study groups in the Chicago area or anyone interested in starting a study group? Send me a message if interested. Thanks!

Hey guys,

I've been looking up 509 reports for schools I'm interested in, and I keep seeing where school report how much grant money their students are given. I know there are federal grants and private grants, and in undergrad I qualified for a federal pell grant based on my mom's income through the FAFSA. Does anyone know anything about how hard grants are to come by in law school? Especially federal need-based grants? And I should probably already know this, but do we have to fill out a FAFSA for law school? I think I read somewhere that we do, and even if we've been out on our own working, we still have to include our parent's financial info on the FAFSA. If anyone could shed some light on this that'd be great! Thanks.

Hi friends,

So I took the LSAT two years ago (October 2015) and scored pretty terribly. I had definitely underestimated the test, and foolishly thought that taking a two-week intensive course just a month before would set me up nicely. In the week counting down I was PTing at about 150 and for whatever reason, was content with this score. I ended up getting blown apart on test day, scoring a 145 officially. I was pretty devastated, and at that point realized that I needed to approach the test much more seriously than I had been.

In the end I got cold feet and didn't apply to any law schools, instead entering a Masters program. Law has always been my end game, and two years later, nearing the end of my Masters, I'm making a push to write again. I think I'm on pace to bring myself over the 160 hump if I stay at it -- PTed at 157 Sunday evening -- but am worried that in the end, my old score will deter schools from accepting me. I'm wondering if anyone is able to either provide me some assurance that there is yet hope, or otherwise, let me know if I've got the odds stacked against me. If it helps to gauge my chances, I'm from Canada, which I understand has much fewer schools and is thus very limited.

My GPA is solid (3.7), I have strong academic and professional references, and think I have some good soft creds with my Masters, sports involvement, and volunteering. How do you think I would fare with two scores of 145 and (hopefully) 160-165? Your insights would be very much appreciated!

AE

I'm currently at the point where my test scores range between 166-172 and I rarely miss more than two questions per reasoning section. However, my performance on the other sections is more volatile, particularly on games (-1 to -8). I studied intensively for about 1.5 months in preparation for the Dec 2016 test, which I cancelled. I then took roughly 8 months off before recently resuming studying for Sep. My improvement on games has been steady but slow and I still often run out of time on 2 or more questions. Can anyone offer some suggestions for study methods beyond the foolproof method? I drilled 20 dif games so far today but my performance started slipping by the 16th or 17th game...thanks!

Hey everyone,

I know i'm still studying like a mad-man for the LSAT, but I want to get my ducks in a row regardless of if i'm taking the September or December. As of today i've had four LOR offers from various people and I'm not quite sure who exactly I should take since I believe the typical amount is 3. I've heard four is overkill, but please correct me if i'm wrong!

Head of my major - I took his course and was the only person to receive an A in his class. I routinely went to office hours and he had me organize review groups before exams to help those who were struggling. I have a great relationship with him and he's even offered to proof my applications and personal statements.

Congressman - I am a summer intern for this Congressman who i've had a great experience with. There is a good handful of us who are interns, but I routinely get pulled to attend exclusive meetings/summits/interviews/roundtables/etc by him. I know the LOR would be a solid one, as he has told me himself that he would love to write one for me for law school.

Senator - I was a fall intern for this Senator who has remained in touch. This was another incredible experience from start to finish. She has well offered to write me a LOR due to the extra hours I always put in and flexibility in rather crazy situations. This woman threw me a surprise birthday party to put this into perspective.

PHD Professor - This professor was an amazing class with an even more amazing professor. She was incredibly kind, informative and helpful. She always took the time to send me detailed notes on my work and offered at the end of the semester to write a LOR for getting an A in her course. She's the youngest tenure professor in my major.

I've heard academic is always a better option but I feel all four would be excellent LORs that I'm lucky to have. What should I do? Who should I turn away? Should I take them all? I also still have two more semesters to get LORs if need be and I have a couple of tentative offers as well if you guys think these aren't a good fit.

Thank you so much!

So I've been trying to develop a circling method for BR/time saving.

The best thing I've come up with so far is one circle for questions I'm not a 100% sure on, two circles for questions I found the answer choices difficult, and three circles for questions I plain just don't understand. I tend to finish my sections with a bit of time 2-5 minutes so I'm hoping this can focus my spare time. Does anyone else use a similar method for which questions they address first?

Hello all,

Applied for LSAT accommodations around the end of July and still have not heard back from the LSAC. It will be 14 business days this Thursday, so they are still within their window, I was just curious, from those who have gone through this process before, is it common for them to take the full 14 business days to reply?

--

http://www.law.com/sites/almstaff/2017/08/07/georgetown-joins-list-of-top-law-schools-using-gre-for-admissions/

Hey guys!

So I am going to begin writing up my personal statements, however I have no idea where to start. I am applying to Canadian law schools and I am not sure how to start writing especially if applications are not yet open.

I understand that each law school usually has a different personal statement topic but they are all similar to some extent... Any suggestions on where to find specific topics and how to get started? I also don't want to spend any money on the personal statement bundle.. What have been some past topics?

Thanks in advance!

I am curious to gain some insight on how fellow sagers trained themselves into answering 10 questions in 10 mins and how you worked up to 15 in 15 and so on. Was it mainly drills or through timed PTs?

Hey y'all,

We got an email from Dean Rodriguez this morning that provides in relevant part:

At Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, we are firmly committed to meeting the evolving needs of the profession, and this means constantly evaluating the law school experience. ... With this in mind, starting in Fall 2018, Northwestern Law will allow JD applicants to submit either the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) for admission the following year (Fall 2019).

The GRE is a holistic exam that comprehensively evaluates qualitative and quantitative skills and is broadly accepted by thousands of graduate and professional degree programs, from biochemistry to public policy to philosophy. Gaining access to GRE test-takers, many of whom are engineers, scientists, and mathematicians, could benefit Northwestern Law and the legal profession at large by diversifying the applicant pool. Additionally, the GRE is offered a number of times throughout the year and in locations worldwide, making it easily accessible for prospective students.

This decision was made after careful evaluation, including a study conducted in conjunction with the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the organization that administers the GRE. In accordance with the American Bar Association (ABA) Standards for Legal Education, the study assessed whether the GRE is a valid predictor of first-year academic performance at Northwestern Law. Results showed that the GRE is in fact a strong predictor of first-year performance at Northwestern.

The ABA Council is currently reviewing its standards in regards to mandatory standardized tests required for law school admissions. ... In the end, we are optimistic that they will allow law schools greater flexibility in the admissions process, to the benefit of students, schools, and the profession alike.

Hopefully this will be of some encouragement and not distract you from your LSAT studies. LSAT remains the best preparation for the skills you need to succeed in law school. One of the reasons I've done well is because I'm super fast at assessing arguments and articulating assumptions: two skills you will not get from the GRE on its own. Also note that our JD-MBA program already accepts GMAT exclusively.

I went through the admissions course, and am wondering what other's thoughts are regarding whether or not my situation would count as allowing for a diversity statement.

I am a Doctor. I am currently a Family Medicine resident but with the desire to practice law with my medical background.

I was hoping to mainly focus on the being a M.D. part as that is something I know that greatly separates me from the vast majority of law applicants and is part of the basis of how and what I would like to do with the joint degrees.

I also happen to have cerebral palsy, extremely mild, but did have to have 6 major surgeries, but I only walk with a minor limp and can ski downhill on expert runs, but it did greatly affect my upbringing.

Appreciate anyone's input, will provide some more information if it would better help with providing an answer.

Thanks everyone!

With 5 weeks until the day of the test, I have been consistently scoring in the mid-60s, anywhere between 162 and 165, with my best test at 167.

I find myself getting the same LR question types wrong (NA, SA, weaken, flaw, and sometimes resolve or strengthen). I have tried drilling the various question types and I still seem to be getting about -4/-5 per LR section.

The only book I have used for studying LR has been the PowerScore LR Bible, so I'm wondering if I should buy a different book to try and master these question types? I don't particularly want to spend more money but if it'll really help I'd be willing to do so.

I've read in discussion forums about the LSAT Trainer or Manhattan books. If someone could let me know what they think/their experiences it'd be much appreciated!

Hi 7sagers,

I am a few years out of UG and finally ready to apply to law school (hoping for fall 2018 start). My UG institution submitted my transcript the other day, and I payed for the CAS earlier this morning to get the ball rolling. I'm a little confused about my LSAC GPA and transcript. During my junior year, I studied outside of the Untied States from August to June. Although my UG grades are not calculated with the study abroad grades, they are listed under the category of "TRANSFER CREDIT ACCEPTED BY THE INSTITUTION" with the credit information and alphabetical grade listed next to each class. For example, Economic Development is listed with 1.00 and T A-. The T denotes that it is a transfer credit. Since this was a year's worth of study it's a significant amount of credit...

Now, when I got to my Academic Summary Report on LSAC, the LSAC GPA is calculated using my other three years of UG, not the year I spent abroad. The year I spent abroad isn't even listed in the yearly row at the top of the report. Even though my total credits add up to the right amount, it looks like I wasn't doing anything for an entire year. I called LSAC earlier today, but they weren't very helpful. They said LSAC will only calculate things in your GPA if the courses were taken at U.S. institutions or a foreign institution on one of the list of approved schools.

Is this something I should consider writing a short addendum so admissions know I wasn't sitting around for a year doing nothing? Anything else I can do?

I honestly do not know if I should register for the September LSAT.

I have now until September 16 without work and school to dedicate time towards studying for the LSAT.

I had taken a Kaplan course back in May before I had discovered 7Sage. So it's not like I haven't studied at all. I have studied all the strategies for all the question types, but now it comes down to actually drilling myself and doing PT's. I have not completed all of the CC, however I have been watching the main strategy videos by question types without actually doing the problem sets (though I have done some questions to see if I understood the technique). In the next two weeks, I hope to complete the LG and LR bundle along with some RC.

For the last three weeks, I aim to do only timed PTs. I will be doing one PT a day, and then review the entire test the next day.

I am not sure if this is enough to be ready by the September LSAT date.

So the question is.. will this study schedule work to my advantage and should I just register for the September LSAT? The late registration deadline is August 9.

HELP! Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

Hi 7sagers,

I am coming back for help again. This time is about anxiety.

I finished the CC and did most problem sets of LR/LG, a few of RC. So I think it is a good time to start timed sections/PT. I am just quiet anxious about it.

One of the reasons is I am kind of worried to see that I am still far from my goal (170+) in the timed tests. If I get a really low score, I might start to question whether I am in the right path/whether the last 2 month study really make any improvement at all. I know it is wrong to think this way, but I am still quite nervous. And I guess some of you might also went though some anxiety when you about to take PTs. How did you overcome it?

Another reason for why I am nervous might be that I am feeling tired and suffering from insomnia. I began study full time for LSAT in mid May, so it is about 3 months. Now I fall asleep around 3am, and weak up around 11am. The problem is I don't feel recharged after I week up. This started to bother me shortly after I start to study for LSAT. I can still do problem sets with the bad feeling, and I can still see the improvement. But I think if I want to take PT I need better mental status. I know some LSAT takers also suffer from insomnia. Love to hear any advice from people who have gone though this progress.

Thanks a lot in advance! :)

I can score anywhere from -1 to -7 (yiiiikes) on RC... sometimes it really just feels like a crapshoot. I usually do really well with reading comp on standardized tests (SAT, subject tests, GRE, APs, etc.) and even tutored for a while. What freaks me out the most about RC is that I often don't catch my mistakes even during BR; I'm making mistakes with confidence haha. Strong and wrong! On my last PT I got 4 questions wrong on a single passage, which would have bumped my overall score from 171 to 174.

I don't usually feel like I'm running out of time, it's more that I can't easily eliminate the wrong answer choices the way I can with LR, for example. So yeah, any tips/advice? :D

Redacted

I upgraded my LSAT course and now it says I'm weeks behind when I checked my study schedule! I'm panicking :( There's no way I could catch up on 40+ hours in one week... (work, other commitments, etc.) What should I do?

This might be a stretch…but do any of you know of a guide of sorts to the T14 (and maybe beyond)?

So we've all been working hard to get to our desired LSAT score...Countless hours of learning new things only to make small improvements in hopes of getting into our desired school. At the end of the day, you own the LSAT, it does not own you. No matter your score, at the end of the day, this is a very small step within the bigger picture called life.

The LSAT does not determine your self worth. Whether you get a 180 or a 140, you're still on the right track. Pick yourself up and go into battle.

Hi 7Sage,

It's my great pleasure to introduce our newest admissions editor, Micah Bateman.

Micah is an Iowa Writers' Workshop alumnus, PhD candidate, and experienced word ninja. He's the kind of editor that other editors go to for help.

Micah's also a bit of a genius. I'm going to embarrass him now, but I have to brag: he took the LSAT on a lark, without studying much, and got a 176.

I've worked with Micah for years at the Iowa Young Writers' Studio, a summer program for talented young poets and fictionauts, and I always enjoyed watching Micah answer student questions in our morning assemblies. He speaks off the cuff in eloquent paragraphs.

In addition to editing personal statements, diversity statements, and anything else you can throw at him, Micah will be our in-house résumé specialist. If you want a set of eyes on your résumé, he's the right guy.

I'm in kind of a weird spot. At this point, I'm getting nearly all difficult questions, including ones I initially flag for BR, correct. But I still end up missing 1-3 questions per section- on questions that I breeze through. The obvious answer is to slow down, but in order to get the difficult questions right, I need every second that I'm given. Were I to slow down up front, I wouldn't be able to finish the section. I know to reach for the low-hanging fruit but that doesn't seem to apply here. I'm not missing any specific type of questions and my stupid mistakes vary. (Sometimes I misread the stimulus, sometimes the answers, or I don't give myself enough time to fully understand the argument.) But there is a confidence error every time. I also know that practice increases speed, so theoretically I should be able to get faster on the difficult questions to leave myself more time up front, but I'm pretty sure I've maxed out my pace. Any advice on how to drill out the stupid is most appreciated!

Well folks it's just over a month until the September 2017 test. Of course that feels like the test is tomorrow.

I'm not really sure what to do. I am fairly consistently around a 168-170 right now, even on the more modern tests. My section break down is;

-0/-1 LG

-3/-5 LR (each)

-4 RC

I want to maintain, and maybe see if I can squeeze out one or two more points some how. I'm just not sure how. I am back on schedule to do 1 PT a week with blind review. Right now I am alternating between RC/LR every day of the week but it's all starting to feel more like review and less like learning new habits and skills.

What do you guys think? What are you doing for the next month?